It is common knowledge that many of our area’s finest physicians have left the state to cultivate their careers, and the trend is continuing as new physicians follow suit. Without a doubt, something needs to change to encourage the future medical ranks from taking the same road.
To address the region’s shortage of physicians, The Commonwealth Medical College (TCMC) has contrived an initiative designed to specifically address the issue by helping guide those who might, under normal circumstances, not have the guidance or resources to be educated for careers in medicine or science-related fields.
Under the tutelage of TCMC President and Dean Robert D’Alessandri, MD, the region’s first medical school has entered into memorandums of understanding with Wilkes University and Luzerne County Community College to develop the Pipeline to Medical Careers Program. Through those agreements, TCMC will lead the effort to target rural, disadvantaged, female, minority, and first-generation students in Luzerne County, with a focus on Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton. TCMC has also initiated discussion with Lackawanna College.
The College Board, a not-for-profit membership association consisting of 5,600 of the nation’s leading schools, colleges, and universities, formalized a request that something be done to address the documented shortage of physicians in Ohio, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Maryland.
The pipeline initiative enlists community colleges, four-year colleges and universities, and medical schools to identify and support students from rural areas and those underrepresented in medicine who are likely to practice in those regions and who show an early interest in the field.
“There will be no real or lasting economic recovery until America has adequate health care,” said College Board President Gaston Caperton. “The pipeline initiative will create important partnerships that will benefit communities and our nation.”
Through the multi-faceted pipeline program, TCMC also plans to develop similar agreements that will encompass younger students, including those within the area’s public school system. Given the proper resources, it will improve academic proficiencies in the sciences and guide the targeted students toward higher education, medical school, or higher-level health careers.
In doing so, the program will require partnerships with community organizations, public school districts and teachers, community colleges, and four-year colleges and universities to generate interest in science and mathematics. TCMC is presently in discussion with the Scranton School District to explore a pipeline program model that can reach students in as early as grades K-12.
Notably, Pennsylvania’s Department of Education recently reported that the majority of eleventh graders scored below grade level in 85% of the state’s school districts. It further revealed that, while 81.5% of fourth-grade students scored at grade level in science, performance fell to 52.7% by eighth grade, and to just 35.7% by eleventh grade.
Ida L. Castro, MA, JD, vice president of Social Justice and Diversity for TCMC, is leading the institution’s pipeline efforts.
“If we hope to replenish our present dearth of physicians, we must make sure that children get the kind of educational foundation required for them to ultimately become scientists and doctors,” she said. “The need is recognized. We don’t need to plead the case; it can be met if we work together.”
Viewed by Castro as “the first down payment of a continuing effort”, approximately 40 students attended an eight-week internship program at TCMC this summer. It was conducted by John A. Arnott, PhD, assistant professor of Cell Biology at TCMC.
“The program was originally designed for local kids, both in NEPA and outside the area, who are interested in bio-medical research,” Arnott said. “It was designed to act as an outreach to encourage those who would not normally take a medical path and was based on basic science research and experiments in the laboratory.”
The internship paired students with mentors/ faculty and their work on specific projects and culminated with presentations that ran concurrently with their research. Notably, the group consisted of undergrads, those with undecided careers, and high-school students– 80-85% were from NEPA and 60 percent were women.
“They blew me away,” said Arnott. “Based on what they were expected to learn within the limited time frame, demonstrated topics, and design and implementation, the quality and quantity of their work was astounding.”
TCMC will serve all of Northeastern Pennsylvania and accepted 60 medical students and 30 Master of Biomedical Sciences students this fall. The College has campuses in Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, and Williamsport.
For more information about TCMC, visit www.thecommonwealthmedical.com.
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